Shale Gas Exposure: Evaluating the Hazard for Children

1. Shale Gas ExposureProblem Potential Sources of exposure and contamination.The context of actual Clinical RisksTools to determine the relationship between air and water exposures and acute and chronic long term health risk June 10, 2016 David Brown, Sc.D

2. The Parent’s Problem A shale gas facility is operating near you. You are concerned about your child’s home, school or daycare center. What should you do? • Recognize that only you are responsible for the child’s safety. • Recognize that Health and safety is directly related to exposures and the chemicals involved. • Recognize that the purpose of Federal and State air and water standards is to lower regional air and water pollution, not to protect children’s health or safety.

3. How can a parent evaluate the hazard to their child? • First determine the chemicals present and their toxic actions. • Manage the exposures? • Identify the locations and periods of exposure to shale emissions. • Know the signs and symptoms of shale gas syndrome. • Know conditions that make children susceptible to injury. • Limit activities that increase exposures.

4. BACKGROUND Five critical facts about shale gas exposure.

5. Fact 1 Human exposure timeline with UNGD activities and human health risk ( 0 is none and 10 is certain)

6. Fact 2 DEP Inventory Data Reports Emissions

7. Activity at site: Compressor Blowdowns

8. Activity at site DEP Well Completion Emissions

9. Fact 3 What health effects should be expected in children? (and adults) • Problems with breathing from irritant gases and particulate matter. • Headache and difficulty concentrating from volatile organic compounds released into air or water. • Sore throat and burning eyes from air born irritants in homes and schools. Nose bleeds. • Excessive tiredness and weakness and difficulty sleeping from accumulated exposures • Skin rashes, burning and itching after bathing from water contaminants.

10. Episodes of extremely high exposures occur regularly every week

11. Fact 4 Number of PM 2.5 Peaks and Symptom Type

12. PM 2.5 Peaks vs. Number of symptoms (N=17) PM Peaks Number of Symptoms

13. Fact 5 Location Matters • Differences in Well Pad production in Washington and Green counties • Range of production of methane from well pad to well pad and area to area are extreme. • Nearness to wells and other facilities is an inadequate measure of safety.

14. Useful tools to characterize the hazard A public health approach

15. The first public health principle is: When in doubt, reduce the exposure. Tools: How close is too close? • DELPHI analysis • Air Model to show distance and direction impacts • Odors and air conditions • Ground water evaluation (Cattfish) Periods when exposures are more hazardous? • Health diary • Air measures SPECK continuous PM 2.5 • Refrigerator magnets • Number and types of facilities

16. Delphi Analysis* Safe setbacks? Ask experts • Purpose: Obtain guidance on setback distances from expert group based on systematic structured review process • Method: Over 50 Scientists were identified who have published peer reviewed papers. Each was asked to respond to three questions. Eight teen provided initial responses with rationale. The rationale used to develop a series of options and re-reviewed by 18 participants. A third review and final review determines consensus opinions for final outcome. • Findings: No one supported setback of less than ¼ mile, 66% did not support setback of ¼ to ½ mile. Insufficient information to determine safety of setbacks of 2 miles. Nearly all cautioned that vulnerable groups may not be protected or that it is not feasible to determine safety with current information. *Report available on EHP website

17. The EHP Air Model* When are episodes of peak exposures likely to occur? • Purpose: Identify periods of higher exposures to specific chemical air emissions. The Air model allows you to develop an hourly exposure profile at different directions and distances based on local weather conditions. • Method: Categories of air concentrations from 500 feet to 2 miles are provided in tables. Local weather report and default emission levels provide necessary data. Findings can be scaled to different emissions. • Findings: Based on weather alone, the ambient air levels at different distances from the sources can range 10 fold from very low to extremely high. • Both time of day and air concentration and frequency of exposures are determined by the model. • *Report available on EHP website

18. EHP Air Model • Determine source terms - PM, VOCs, formaldehyde Derived from monitoring studies and public data • Measure distance from source to residence Used Google Earth • Gather weather data from nearest airport or weather stationWind direction, wind speed, cloud cover, day or night (6-hour time periods) • Consult EHP air model chartsEstimates of exposure at the residence based on source term, weather, distance

19. Hourly VOC Concentrations 1 km from compressor (6 hour averages)

20. Hourly VOC Concentrations 1 km from compressor (6 hour averages) Variation in weekly air Variation in monthly air

21. Summary of peak PM 2.5 count values for each house Given in number of hours, % total hours, times of day, and maximum peak value.(Median 50 Cts/0.01ft3)6 hour average: night, morning, afternoon, evening

22. General guidance on weather and exposure

23. Examples of ug/m3 VOCs Air model charts

25. Odors and air contamination • Observations: Periodic episodes of odors often in mornings at night or when air movement is slow on calm period of the days. • Health effects: Nose and Throat, neurological, respiratory and gastro-intestinal symptoms are experienced when odors are present. • Possible protective activities: • Diary • Speck analysis • Remove child from exposures

26. Recognition of air odor and health effects

27. Groundwater Evaluation • Use of contaminated water and health • Consumption and cooking • Showering and bathing • Contamination indoor air • Continuous analysis CATTFish • Indicator of presence of Frack or produced water. • Sampling limitations • Specific sampling for lighter weight VOCs that are traveling in groundwater

28. Symptom comparison: Groundwater and Public water

29. PM Monitors Continuous Air Monitoring

30. Speck is a continuous meter that identifies periods of high exposure to PM 2.5 inside and outside of house • A key component of EHP’s exposure evaluations • Placed in or near homes for periods of 30 days or more. • Measures PM 25 levels every minute. • Sensitive to periods of extreme elevations in PM 2.5. • Is a surrogate for the mixture of chemicals. • EHP analysis protocol identifies: • Number of peak exposures/ week. • The duration of the peak • The time between peaks • The baseline PM 2.5. • Area Under the Curve for accumulated exposures. • A relative risk ranking score

31. Review of reported symptoms Symptoms might be persistent, transient, or intermittent. These variations in symptom presentation are consistent with the changing and episodic nature of exposures.

32. A serious synergistic toxic action Fine particles increase transport of toxics into deep lung • Bypass protective actions in upper respiratory tract • Action is related to size and number of particles • Increased surface area increase toxic responses • Water solubility increase the attachment to particle surface • Particles do not need to be reactive • 3 to 20 fold increase in uptake • PM prevalent toxic at UOGD sites

33. Other tools that characterize the exposures and guide health providers • Health Diary • Systematic method to record time and type of health effects. • Medical Toolkit • Guidance for healthcare providers that provide details for patient evaluations • Systematic approach to address worry and stress • Health evaluation tools • Health intakes • Environmental evaluations • SF-36 • Shale Gas Syndrome Case Description • Structured Guidance to reduce exposures • Air filters • Water filters

34. How to protect against health impacts from Unconventional Natural Gas Development (UNGD) Cut off contamination from air Clean your house often, especially areas where your children play. Use a vacuum that can fit a HEPA filter. Don’t sweep with a broom. Vent the air in places where you use water. Open windows or run an exhaust fan in the bathroom, kitchen and laundry room. If you have a stove fan, always use it while cooking. Let fresh air in your home when it is breezy outside, usually in the middle of the day. Unhealthy air can collect closer to ground level when the air is still, usually in the morning and evening. Take off your shoes and wipe off pets’ paws and fur before going inside. This will help to keep contamination from soil out of your home. Cut off contamination from water Don’t rely on one-time water tests to tell you if your water is safe to drink and use. Accidents and contamination can happen at any time. Consider using bottle water for drinking, cooking and making drinks like baby formula, coffee, juice. If you must drink or cook with your tap water, leave it uncovered in a pitcher or bottle in the refrigerator overnight before using it. Stop drinking your water if you or someone in your family has stomach pain or discomfort, confusion, nosebleeds, muscle pains or other unusual symptoms. If your water burns your skin or causes a rash, take showers and baths somewhere else. Go see your doctor and call our office to see our nurse practitioner. Monitor changes in your health and environment Keep a health diary. Write down changes in your health and changes you notice in your water or air. Share this information with your health care provider. Remember that children, senior citizens or people with chronic health conditions are more sensitive. Pay special attention to changes in their health. Check the conductivity of your water. This can tell you if your water changes and if there may be a problem with your water. EHP offers the CATTFish, to monitor conductivity, to individuals on well or spring water.* Monitor particulate matter (PM) in the air. EHP offers the Speck air monitor to help individuals identify times when particulate matter concentrations are high within their home, and other times when exposures may not be occurring.* Find ways to cope with the changes in your environment.EHP offers a free program, Take Steps to Health, to help individuals improve their health and manage some of life’s stressors. *The Speck and CATTFish cannot identify specific chemicals in your air or water. They warn you that changes that may warrant extra testing are occurring.

35. Conclusions • People are exposed to toxics through air, water and soil. • The exposures are periodic and intense for several hours. • Regulatory air and water screening will not detect the hazard. • Most likely acute physical symptoms include headache, wheezing, ear/nose/throat problems (including nosebleeds), skin rash and fatigue. • Biomonitoring methods need to be developed. • Interventions and support at the patient level help coping. • Individuals must monitor their health and exposure status. • Sense of community trust and social capital is destroyed. • Federal, State and Local public health and environmental agencies are not able to effectively respond. The Public Health Process has become rule bound, restricted to standard environmental tests of air and water and research health protocols. • Regulatory agencies do not have the flexibility to monitor health and environment appropriately.

37. Information typically provided to communities Actual Health Impacts Classic argument with maps • Average (24hr) air or water concentrations to a few regulated chemical emissions. (Benzene) • Comparison of averages to a few federal standards. • Conclude that average air levels are many times lower than a Federal Standard. • No possible health issue • Repeated extreme exposures for several hours a month. • Syndrome of acute toxic actions several times a week. • Many sources near by including UOGD

38. Health Standards versus Regulatory Standards • Notice health numbers on right. • Regulatory standards used by FERC on left. • Notice that this is a log scale. • Information is not appropriate to determine health safety.

39. Questions and review • Tools are available that: • Measure actual exposures • Clarify setback distances • A Public Heath based management strategy • Delphi findings • Speck Analysis • Air model • Community guidance • Questions ?